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West Virginia's Democratic governor and Senate candidate Joe Manchin attended a $1,000 to $5,000 a head fundraiser in Washington, D.C. today and apparently* slipped out the back door without taking questions from the press.

Why is Manchin in Washington 12 days before the election? "He has to have money," West Virginia's senior Democratic senator Jay Rockefeller told Politico's Simmi Aujla as he left the event. Manchin doesn't have foreign money or money from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Rockefeller continued. So who ponied up at today's D.C. fundraiser for Manchin?

"Just a company," said one man, asked for his affiliation, as he left the event. Which company? "A company," he replied, as he walked away, perhaps unaware that he was wearing a tag with the name of the development firm Cotiga on it.

Another couple of men in suits stayed silent when asked with whom they were affiliated. "Ourselves," said another man as he left the event.

The event was scheduled to last from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., but Manchin was nowhere to be seen by 12:30p.m. An attendee said Manchin had already left.

Presumably, Manchin must have slipped out the back door, though we can't say with 100 percent certainty that he didn't evacuate the fundraiser via the fire escape or a secret tunnel.and apparently* slipped out the back door without taking questions from the press.